<B>The British Council?s language clinic with ?Dr Danny?</B>

Hello and welcome to the English Language Clinic. This week I have a question for you: what is unusual about the word ?esquivalience?? The answer is: it is a ?nihilartikel?, aka ?Mountweazel?, ?fake entry? or ?fictitious entry?. In 2001, the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) added an entry for ?esquivalience?, with this definition: ?the wilful avoidance of one?s official responsibilities?. It was later revealed that the word was completely ?made up? (invented); it had been created by one of the dictionary?s editors. The word had been invented and the entry added in order to protect the copyright of the dictionary. The editor had been concerned that other dictionaries would simply ?plagiarise? (copy) the entries from the NOAD, thus saving themselves a lot of time and money.

In exactly the same way, the New Columbia Encyclopaedia once added an entry for a woman called Lillian V. Mountweazel, a famous photographer. No such person had ever lived and the entry was solely to protect the copyright of the encyclopaedia. The practice of including fictitious (invented) or erroneous (with an error) information in published work is not restricted to texts. A ?trap street? is a made-up street added to a map to stop others copying and selling it. To attempt to make someone believe that something fictitious is real can be described as to ?hoax?, ?dupe?, ?trick? or ?deceive?. The day of the year usually associated with this activity is April 1st or April Fools? Day. So, now you know all about ?esquivalience??

Please send your comments, queries and questions to me, at [email protected]. For information on any of British Council?s activities please visit the website: www.britishcouncil.org/southafrica